Day 6 (9/20): Cruden Bay 10-14

we continue to head south from an elevated tee shot. looks narrow off the tee but one of the wider landing areas on the course.



it's time to flip back north for one hole, 11, a reasonable par 3 named 'Mishanter'



we make a u-turn on 12 tee box 'Finnyfal' and continue to head towards the southern tip of the course.



we find ourselves at the southernmost point, and begin our journey north towards the clubhouse, starting with the Par 5 13th, 'Bents'.



and that brings us to the 14th hole 'Whins'. the famous coffin green that i posted a pic or two of earlier looking down from the hill.



i'm going to pause here for now, but the next four holes include another blind tee shot, a pilgrim's well, a supposed viking burial ground, and the longest putt i've ever made.

Only one on your list that we did was North Berwick, will be good to relive it.

Cruden Bay hole 15 'Blin' Dunt'
yet another aiming stick, this time for a par 3 playing at a smooth 195 yards.


and here we have back to back par 3s, the 16th hole 'Coffins' is next


we're getting close to the end. hole 17, 'Bilin' Wallie'


this hole is rumored to have a viking burial ground in the middle of the fairway, which is hard to refute based upon the view from the tee.



if you happen to avoid the huge mounds in the middle of the fairway, this might be the view of your next shot.



and we finish with 18 'Hame'
not so exciting, as the view from the tee runs along the side of the driving range


but the reason for the next pic is because i had a very shitty day, and there was no way i thought i could clip a wedge from a tight lie and even find the green. i chose to use a putter (the proper play) and just so happened to find the bottom of the cup from this very spot

Day 7 (9/21) - Fraserburgh Corbie Hill

Today we drive 30 minutes north of Cruden Bay, around Peterhead, to Fraserburgh to play the CorbieHill course (they also have a 9 hole RoseHill course, which we didn't play).

They bill themselves as the 7th oldest club in the world, 5th oldest in Scotland, and the oldest north of St. Andrews.


One of the things I really enjoyed about Fraserburgh is that it has a total muni feel even though the club is one year younger than the USA. Absolutely no pretension around these parts other than what's shown on the sign. There's no pro shop, and the only souvenirs for sale are a ball marker and a divot tool. We had eight in our group, all wanting trolleys for our bags, and the two young ladies in the Pro Shop had to go out to the shed behind the clubhouse and scrounge for the last two trolleys, pulling the wheels off of one to put on another to make it functional.

This likely won't be a hole by hole post, partly because it was a rather overcast, moody day with 30mph winds and rapidly changing clouds that made it hard to photograph; and partly because Fraserburgh has some really fun holes but nothing quite the caliber of Prestwick or Cruden Bay. Don't get me wrong...I just checked the current rates and they are charging 40 pounds ($55) for a weekday round and 60 pounds ($83) for a weekend round. If this course was close to me I would play it all the time at those prices, and that's why I think I enjoyed it so much. I felt like a local playing my local course, which just so happens to be located on a fantastic piece of linksland with wonderful views.

First we cross the highway to get to the tee


Typical of many courses in Scotland, the first hole (aptly named Corbie Hill) is a 'gentle handshake' of a par 4 with the primary purpose being to get you from the clubhouse to the rolling linksland. Not too long, wide fairway, and elevated green.



We keep climbing on the second (Braid's Bellow), heading towards the tiny elevated green.




We've reached the top of the hill at the third box (Whyte's Shelter) and have a short downhill par 4 with a 30mph right to left wind.


looking back to 2 green


looking back to the box


Hole 4, The Plateau




Hole 5, The Hump, is the first par 3


Hole 6, The Cottage, is a straightforward par 5

Hole 7, The Well, is the second par 3




Hole 8, The Spruces, is an uphill par 4

Hole 9, Lang Whang, is a downhill par 4. You may be starting to think this course has a lot of climb and descent, and you'd be correct.

Hole 10, Solitude. Short par 4, and I post these two pics, taken with a few seconds of each other, to give you a sense of how fast the clouds were moving.



the green


Hole 11, Elsie's, a short straight uphill par 4 to a large green with little trouble. There are a few other holes like this that I didn't post pics of, and it's these handful of holes that keep this course from being truly special



Hole 12, The Castle, short par 4


Hole 13, The Hillocks, one of my favorite on the course. Very short but no where close to easy.





Hole 14, Homeward, long downhill par 3


Hole 15, The Bents, 500 yard par 5.


Hole 16, The Valley, par 4





Hole 17, Peninsula, the last par 3


Hole 18, The Bridge. Also typical of many holes in Scotland, it's somewhat of a mirror image of the first, getting you back to the clubhouse from the linksland. Shame on you if you can't find a playable second shot off the tee.


and with no exaggeration, Fraserburgh had the best post-round toasties, sausage rolls, and soup on the entire trip. Gladys was a wonderful host and felt like the Scottish grandmother I didn't know I had. She even treated the table to pastry fresh out of the oven just because she wanted to...such a sweetheart.

isn't it interesting how cyclical things can be? i made this post one year ago yesterday, and here i find myself with a wee bit of time available to advance things forward in a positive manner (isn't that one if the base tenets of golf?).
i do have to admit this was somewhat inspired by a friend who is in Scotland right now with his recently graduated golf-playing daughter. friend plays off a 6 or 7, daughter has a golf scholarship next year at university. the course is Cruden Bay

the status
Already posted:
Day 1 (9/15) - Prestwick St. Cuthbert
Day 2 (9/16) - Prestwick beauty shots
Day 3 (9/17) - Shiskine
Day 4 (9/18) - Western Gailes
Day 5 (9/16 & 9/19) - Prestwick: summary of both rounds
Day 6 (9/20) - Cruden Bay (holes 1-9)
Day 6 (9/20) - Cruden Bay (holes 10-18)
Day 7 (9/21) - Fraserburgh Corbiehill

Upcoming posts:
Day 8 (9/22) - Cruden Bay St. Olaf and possibly more Cruden Bay
Day 9 (9/23) - Royal Aberdeen
Day 10 (9/24) - Kilspindie
Day 11 (9/25) - Dunbar
Day 12 (9/26) - North Berwick
Day 13 (9/27) - North Berwick
Day 14 (9/28) - Gullane #2

as a bit of a teaser, my next post will have something to do with this: